Western burrowing owl closer to possible protection in California

Sam Ribakoff

(CN) — The western burrowing owl is inching closer to possibly being protected in California after the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife agreed with a coalition of environmental groups that the owl should be considered for the state’s endangered species list.

The department’s consideration does not grant the owls protection automatically. In October, the commission will vote on whether the department's evaluation of the center's petition contains enough information to warrant a "status review report."

If the commission votes that further action may be warranted, the department will then conduct a study that could take up to a year and a half, which the commission then uses to vote on whether to grant the owl endangered or threatened status.

If the owl makes it to the candidacy stage, they’ll also be granted the full protections given to endangered and threatened species while the study is conducted.

The department’s recommendation of the environmental groups’ petition is the “cursory initial step,” said Jeff Miller, a senior conservation advocate at the Center for Biological Diversity, one of the environmental groups that filed the petition with the commission.

The western burrowing owl is a small bird of prey, with sandy colored feathers and striking yellow eyes. As their name implies, they nest in underground burrows that other animals make and leave behind, like ground squirrels, coyotes, foxes and tortoises.

The owl used to live around the state, most commonly in low elevation grasslands, but exurban sprawl, conversion of grasslands to agricultural lands, programs that negatively impact ground squirrels, and even large wind and solar energy infrastructure projects have led to severe depletion of the owl’s habitat loss according to the petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity, Defenders of Wildlife, Burrowing Owl Preservation Society, Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, Urban Bird Foundation, Central Valley Bird Club and San Bernardino Valley Audubon Society.

“The commission should advance these state protections so California’s adorable burrowing owls can continue to grace grasslands and open spaces,” Miller said in a press release Tuesday. “I’ve witnessed these owls disappearing from much of the state over the past two decades, and it pains me to watch their homes be bulldozed for irresponsible sprawl development.”

The owls are also being killed by rat poison and run-ins with wind turbines and cars.

Only 25 breeding pairs of burrowing owls still live in the Bay Area, while only 225 are left in central, western and southwestern parts of the state and only 1,000 in the southern Central Valley according to the Center for Biological Diversity. The Imperial Valley is the state’s stronghold for burrowing owls, with 4,000 breeding pairs, the center adds.

If the owls were successfully added to the state’s endangered list, the state would be required to work with local governments to manage threats to their habitats, like not allowing owls to be removed from land being prepared for development.

"We are relieved that the burrowing owl is now recommended as a potential candidate for special status listing, but it breaks our hearts that we had to reach this critical point,” said Shani Kleinhaus with Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society, in the center’s press release. “We hope the commission designates the Bay Area population as endangered to help these owls recover, since they bring such joy to residents of Santa Clara Valley.”

The California Fish and Game Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.